Former Gopher Captain Named Cobber Head Coach

Pictures courtesy of Eric Miller, University of Minnesota Athletics

Jul 25, 2013

MOORHEAD, Minn. (7/25/13)-- Concordia-Moorhead Athletic Director Rich Glas announced that former University of Minnesota women's hockey captain Sarah Erickson has been named the new head women's hockey coach for the Cobbers.

Erickson, who was captain for the Gophers in both the 2011 and 2012 seasons, replaces Brett Bruininks who left the college to take the women's hockey assistant coach position at Minnesota State University. Erickson becomes the sixth head coach in the history of the Concordia women's hockey program which started in 1999. She is also the youngest head coach in the history of athletics at Concordia College. Erickson comes to Concordia after serving as an assistant coach for the women's hockey team at UW-Stevens Point last season.

"Sarah's high-level experience at the high school, collegiate and international levels made her stand out from the other candidates," said Glas. "She has a tremendous background in the game and her knowledge of the area and what it takes to compete at the highest level in the sport will help the program continue to be very successful. We are ecstatic to be able to have Sarah take control of the program."

Erickson starred for the University of Minnesota for four seasons from 2009-12. She was a two-year captain and helped guide the Gophers to the NCAA Division I National Championship in 2012. Erickson finished her collegiate career by playing in 158 games which is the second most in school history. She scored 69 goals in her four letter-winning years at the University of Minnesota – 11th most in program history. Erickson was named to the NCAA Frozen Four All-Tournament Team as a senior and the WCHA All-Tournament Team as a junior.

"I'm excited to continue to build the program," remarked Erickson. "To be a part of a program, athletic department and college like Concordia is a phenomenal opportunity."

In addition to her excellence on the ice, Erickson also earned Academic All-WCHA honors in 2012. She graduated with a major in Communications.

Erickson also brings with her a vast amount of success at the international level. She most recently played for the U.S. Women's National Team that played in the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship in Ottawa, Ont., and defeated Canada in the Gold Medal game. Erickson's international experience also includes captaining the United States Under-18 Team that won the gold medal in 2008. She was the first ever captain of the USA Under-18 team.

"Throughout my 20 years in hockey I have been coached by the best of the best," stated Erickson. "I have been a sponge soaking up all the information I could and I want to take that knowledge and give it to my players."

Erickson had a highly decorated high school career which culminated in her being named Ms. Hockey in the state of Minnesota in 2008. She played for Bemidji High School in her final three seasons of high school and recorded an impressive 193 points. Erickson also played for Roseau High school during eighth and ninth grade. She was the team's captain as a freshman and tallied 97 points in her two seasons. All told in high school she was a five-time all-conference player and earned all-state honors three times. She finished her prep career with 290 points.

Erickson will start her coaching duties at Concordia on August 19 and will also be involved in other aspects of the athletic and health and physical education departments.